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Dateline: 3/7/2009

TRACKING THE ZAGS: 2


West Coast Conference Basketball Tournament_2

Zags in Vegas for hoops, help others

By Dale Goodwin
LAS VEGAS (Saturday, March 7) -- Barbara Gerhardt has always had a penchant for serving others. After graduating from Gonzaga University in 1966, she began a teaching career that would see her gravitate toward at-risk kids, and students in at-risk schools.

The volunteers got a lot accomplished today at the home of 83-year-old Vivian "Patty" Beach, who is blind.
The Gonzaga Alumni Association and the organization Rebuilding Together teamed up to help Vivian Beach today.
About eight months ago, after she had retired from teaching, she learned about a Las Vegas woman who had gone progressively blind over the past two years, and needed some help. Barbara, who has lived in Vegas for the past 30 years, stepped up and went shopping for her new friend, ran errands and did odd jobs around the house.

So it was a big surprise to her when the Gonzaga University Alumni Association sent out an announcement that the West Coast Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments were coming to her city, and alumni in town for the event were being summoned to help her blind friend, Patty Beach, change out gas appliances, paint and do some home repair as part of a national effort, Rebuilding Together.

"This is my Patty," she thought when she received the e-mail.

Beach was selected by Rebuilding Together because of her disability, combined with the fact that her husband was deceased and they had no children. It was a perfect match for Barbara and the Gonzaga alumni crew of 30 volunteers, who combined with nearly a dozen contractors in the Vegas area to perform the needed service today, reported Kara Hertz, Gonzaga’s associate alumni director in charge of the effort.

All the volunteers pause for a photo. (Pictures courtesy Brooke Sullivan.)
The group stops with Patty Beach (standing behind sign with red shirt and white sweater) for a photo.
The whole project was spearheaded by Gonzaga Regent Mary Herche of Seattle, who serves as chair of the national Rebuilding Together board of directors.

"We did 20 projects in conjunction with Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa last month," Herche said. "We did six homes in conjunction with the NBA All-Star game last month in Phoenix. We were particularly interested in this project for a blind woman because of (Gonzaga President) Father (Robert) Spitzer’s own vision deficiencies."

OTHER THINGS AFOOT in VEGAS

Gonzaga Alumni Director and unofficial Alumni Association Golf Coordinator Bob Finn spearheaded an alumni golf outing today in Las Vegas, and has another one planned for Monday morning. Meanwhile, Assistant Alumni Director Teresa Hudak is staging a family friendly bowling tournament this evening at The Orleans Hotel, which sports a 70-lane bowling complex. Father Spitzer will say Mass Sunday morning at The Orleans for any alumni or friends who are looking for the spiritual side of Las Vegas. Alumni socials will be held Sunday at 4:30 p.m. and, if the Gonzaga men’s team wins Sunday, on Monday at 4 p.m. Both socials will take place in The Orleans Hotel, which is connected to the Orleans Arena, site of the 23rd annual WCC basketball tournaments.

FRIDAY’S RESULTS, SATURDAY’S PAIRINGS
Former Gonzaga Assistant Coach Bill Grier led his San Diego Toreros to victory over Loyola Marymount in Friday’s first round of the men’s tournament, 62-56, and Pepperdine defeated San Francisco 93-85. Today Santa Clara meets San Diego and Portland meets Pepperdine. In the women’s tournament Friday, former Gonzaga Coach Jennifer Mountain’s eighth-seeded Santa Clara Broncos defeated Saint Mary’s 82-55, and San Diego beat San Francisco 73-64. Today Santa Clara takes on Loyola Marymount and San Diego meets Pepperdine.

The top-seeded Gonzaga women will meet the Santa Clara-San Diego winner on Sunday at noon, while the top-seeded Gonzaga men will play the Santa Clara-LMU winner Sunday at 6:30 p.m. (ESPN2). All games are at The Orleans Arena.